Hanger for lighting-fixtures.



\ B. H. WAKEFIELD. HANGER FOR LIGHTING FIXTURES.

APPLICATION IILED NOV. 6, 1909.

Patented June 7, 1910,

ma 2 E ITED STATES PATENT IFF.

ERNEST H. WAKEFIELD, OF VERMILION, OHIO.

HANGER FOR LIGHTING-FIXTURES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST H. WAKE- FIELD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Vermilion, in the county of Erie and State of Ohio,have invented new and useful Improvements in Hangers for Lighting-Fixtures, of which the following is a speclfication.

The present invention provides suspending means for electroliers andlighting fixtures generally of the chandelier type adapted to hangpendent from a ceiling or over head support, the purpose being toprovide a hanger which will admit of the fixture being readily placed inposition and adapted to automatically adjust itself so as to hangperpendicularly.

The invention provides suspending means for hanging fixtures which aredesigned to be removed and replaced and which are not coupled to servicepipes in contradistinction to features of the type utilizing gas as theilluminating medium and which fixtures are connected to the service pipeby screw thread joints.

The present invention overcomes the difiiculties incident to attachingelectroliers to the ceiling, the general practice being to attach thefixture by means of screws let into the ceiling and it being necessaryto support the fixture during the hanging operation. One of the chiefobjections to this practice is the difliculty experienced in supportingthe weight of the fixture and at the same time driving the attachingscrews home. Another objection resides in the fact that plastering dropsand is liable to cause inconvenience and pain to the workmen by gettingin the eyes and is further objectionable in dropping upon projectingparts of the fixture. Another serious objection resides in the fact thatunless the part of the ceiling to which the fixture is attached isperfectly level the fixture will not hang perpendicularly and it isnecessary to bend or strain the parts in order to plumb the same.

The objectionable features herein noted are overcome by the presentinvention, which resides in the novel features and details ofconstruction which hereinafter will be more particularly set forth,pointed out in the claim and illustrated in the drawings heretoattached, in which,

Figure 1 is a side view of the upper portion of a fixture suspended bymeans em- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 6, 1909.

Patented June "7, 1910. Serial No. 526,622.

bodying the invention, parts of the hanger being broken away. Fig. 2 isa vertical central section of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa view of the hanger as seen from below. Fig. 4 is a side view of theconnector.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription, and indicated in all the views of the drawings, by the samereference characters.

The invention comprises essentially two parts, a hanger A and aconnector B. The hanger A comprises a socket 1 and basal flanges 2, thelatter being apertured, as indicated at 8, to receive screws 1 or likefastenings. The socket l is pressed from the plane of the basal flanges2 and tapers and is provided at its lower end with an opening 5, whichreceives the connector B. A side portion of the socket 1 is cut away, asshown at 6, to form an unobstructed passageway for the ingress andegress of the connector B. The edge portions of the socket upon theopposite sides of the passageway 6 are outwardly flared, as indicated at7, to assist in directing the connector into the socket when placing thefixture in position.

While the hanger may be formed in any manner it is observed that theconstruction is such as to admit of its being struck from sheet metal,the socket, flanges and openings 3 in the flanges being formed at oneoperation when striking the hanger from a blank or piece of sheet metalof proper gage. It will thus be understood that the hanger may becheaply manufactured and embodies a minimum amount of material inconstruc-.

tion and is therefore light and capable of being finished in an artisticmanner. When in position the socket is prevented from spreading by thefastenings 4 passing through the openings 3.

The connector 13 comprises a cylindrical body 8', outer shoulders 9 and10 and a projecting portion 11. The shoulder 9 tapers to conformapproximately to the taper of the socket 1 so as to sustain the weightof the fixture and to admit of the latter adapting itself so as to hangperpendicularly. The shoulder 10 limits the upward movement of theconnector when placing the same in position. The projecting part 11enters the casing 12 of the fixture and serves to centralize the same,the pipe 13 forming the main stem of the fixture is threaded into thelower end of the connector B and may be passed through said connector ifnecessary larged at its upper end, thereby admitting of the upperportion of the pipe 13 passing therethrough.

' To use the invention so as to obtain the advantages thereof the hangerA is placed in position upon the ceiling and fastened thereto by meansof the screws 4:- The up er end of the stem ofthe fixture is prov1 edwith the connector B, which is threaded upon the pipe 13 and has theprojecting portion 11 entering the casing 12. Thefixture is placed inposition by slipping the cylindrical portion 8 of the connectorthroughthe passageway 6 into the opening5, after which the fixture is lowereduntil the shoulder 9 engages the lower end of the socket 1 when thehanging is completed. The construction is such as to admit of thefixture adapting,

itself automatically so as to-hang in a vertical line.-

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, the advantages of the construction and of the method ofoperation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to whichI the'invention appertains, and while I have described the principle ofoperation of the invention, together withthe device which I now considerto be the embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that thedevice shown is merely illustrative, and that such changes may be madewhen desired as are within the scope of the claim appended hereto.

Havingthus described the invention what is claimed as new, is

Suspending means for electroliers and like lighting fixtures, the samecomprising a hanger and a connector, the hanger comprising a taperedsocket portion having oppositely disposed basal. flanges formed in theirends with openings, said socket having a portion vatone sidecut away toprovide a passageway and having. the sedge'portions of the socket uponopposite sides of the passagewayflared,and a connector comprising acylindrical body having spaced shoulders extending outwardly, the uppershoulder being tapered and=sa1d connector also-having a projectingportion to enter the casingrof the fixture and centralize thesame, theopening of theconnector beingenlarged at-its upper end and havingitslower portion internally threaded to make screw thread connection withthe stem. orpipe of the fixture, said connector having free ingress andegress through the passageway of the hange r. lead ing into the socketthereof.-

In testimony; whereof I afiix my signature in presencelof two witnesses.

ERNEST H. AKE-FIELD.

\Vitnesses:

HARRY V. TAKEFIELD, IRVING C. SHAW.

